Legal Status
Reader Aids
Reader aid items in this section
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Government Shutdown Beginning December 26, 2018
During the shutdown, we will not be offering technical support for Federalregister.gov. If data feeds are not available from GPO, FederalRegister.gov will not be updated, so please use the official edition of the Federal Register on Govinfo (https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/fr). If there is a technical issue with the Public Inspection List, you can view the official versions … Continue reading “Government Shutdown Beginning December 26, 2018”
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New Federal Register Page Rates
By Amy Bunk Director of Legal Affairs and Policy, Office of the Federal Register The Government Publishing Office (GPO) just issued Circular Letter No. 1003 adjusting Federal Register page rates. Here is a link to the new circular: https://www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/agency/circular-letters/new-federal-register-publishing-rates. If you have any questions concerning this circular, please contact GPO’s OFR Publishing Services: phone 202-512-2100 or … Continue reading “New Federal Register Page Rates”
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Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017
As you may know, the Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-120) placed restrictions on the distribution of official subscriptions to the daily Federal Register. The Government Publishing Office (GPO) recently issued a Circular Letter discussing how this Act will be implemented. Here’s a link to the GPO Circular Letter: https://www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/agency/circular-letters/federal-register-printing-savings-act-of-2017. If … Continue reading “Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017”
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What happens if the Government shuts down?
We know agencies have questions about our procedures and publication schedule if there is a government shutdown. We published a Federal Register notice, outlining those procedures on December 8, 2017(82 FR 58028). Here is a link to that document: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-12-08/pdf/2017-26280.pdf. We have just issued a Federal Register Bulletin with a template request letter for publishing … Continue reading “What happens if the Government shuts down?”
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New Edition of the IBR Handbook
By Amy Bunk Director of Legal Affairs and Policy, Office of the Federal Register The Office of the Federal Register released a new edition of the IBR Handbook in October 2017. We anticipated an effective date for the changes of January 2, 2018, but given our delayed notification, we are pushing the effective date back to … Continue reading “New Edition of the IBR Handbook”
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CFR Index and Finding Aids
By John H. Martinez Director of Publications and Services, Office of the Federal Register The CFR Index and Finding Aids volume is published as a special edition of the Federal Register, and is now available on govinfo.gov and FDsys.gov websites beginning with the 2017 edition. Future editions will be made available online as the print edition … Continue reading “CFR Index and Finding Aids”
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Federal Register Digitization Project
By Benjamin Jordi Public Affairs Specialist, National Archives and Records Administration Digitized volumes of the Federal Register from 1990-1994 have been published on www.govinfo.gov by the Government Publishing Office (GPO). The bulk upload is the first to be made available to the public as the Office of the Federal Register and GPO digitize the historical issues of the Federal … Continue reading “Federal Register Digitization Project”
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The Federal Register is on Twitter
Follow us: @FedRegister
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Sixth Volume of the Public Papers of President Barack Obama Available
The sixth volume of the Public Papers of President Barack Obama is now available. These volumes are produced right here at the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) by our staff in the Presidential unit. This particular volume is 888 pages and includes the text of his public speeches, news conferences, messages and statements, communications … Continue reading “Sixth Volume of the Public Papers of President Barack Obama Available”
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Update on Digitizing the Federal Register
We’re excited to share with you our progress digitizing the Federal Register with the Government Publishing Office (GPO). Since our last report, GPO has: Completed the preparation of the Federal Register material for digitization: Over 15,376 issues, indexes, and codification guidelines were processed, contained within 299 boxes. An additional 105 replacement issue copies have been … Continue reading “Update on Digitizing the Federal Register”
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Early Closing on December 24, 2015
In accordance with EO 13713, Half-Day Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Thursday, December 24, 2015, signed on December 11, 2015, the Office of the Federal Register will close at 12 noon to Federal Agencies and the public. The last scheduled public inspection will occur at 11:15 on that day. … Continue reading “Early Closing on December 24, 2015”
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Digitizing the Federal Register
If you have ever tried to search our site for Federal Register documents published prior to 1994, you’ve realized that there is nothing online from 1936 to 1994. Then you may have called our office, only to find out you’d either have to come to our office or find a Federal Depository Library near you. Well, … Continue reading “Digitizing the Federal Register”
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Updates to PKCS7Sign tool
Today, the General Services Administration (GSA) released updates to their PKCS7Sign tool. The tool allows federal agencies to leverage the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates on many Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards. The update to the tool adds an unpack feature, allowing agency users to open digitally-signed files. All versions of the tool are available … Continue reading “Updates to PKCS7Sign tool”
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2nd Annual PKI Conference
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) hosted the 2nd Annual PKI Conference on August 25, 2015. New OFR Director Oliver Potts welcomed the attendees and briefly talked about OFR’s role in encouraging increased PKI submissions to the Office of the Federal Register. PKI, or Public Key … Continue reading “2nd Annual PKI Conference”
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XML now available for ecfr.gov
We are excited to announce the availability of XML (Extensible Markup Language) data for www.ecfr.gov through our partnership with the Government Publishing Office (GPO)! The XML eCFR.gov data can be repurposed for mobile web applications, data mashups, and other analytic tools by third party providers. Through our partnership with the GPO, XML datasets for the … Continue reading “XML now available for ecfr.gov”
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Oliver Potts Selected as 9th Director of the Federal Register
[Cross-posted from National Archives internal blog, Declarations] The National Archives and Records Administration and the Office of the Federal Register are pleased to announce the selection of Oliver Potts as the 9th Director of the Federal Register, effective August 9, 2015. As Director, Potts will lead the Office of the Federal Register, which publishes the … Continue reading “Oliver Potts Selected as 9th Director of the Federal Register”
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What is Public Inspection?
[This post was written by OFR intern Lissa N. Snyders] Although agency regulations are not official until they are published in the Federal Register, the public has the opportunity to preview these documents before they are published. All documents that will be printed in the Federal Register are made available to the public at least … Continue reading “What is Public Inspection?”
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2015 Federal Register Liaison Conference
On June 2, 2015, the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) hosted its 3rd Annual Federal Register Liaison Conference in the National Archives’ McGowan Theater. What exactly is a Federal Register Liaison? Each federal agency is required to designate an individual as a point of contact for all documents their agency publishes in the Federal … Continue reading “2015 Federal Register Liaison Conference”
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New Image Collection: U.S. Government Manual
[This post was written by OFR intern Lissa N. Snyders] We are excited to announce a new visual collection of the U.S. Government Manual (USGM) covers. The covers of each edition from 1935 to 2013 were digitized and additional information about each volume, like the number of pages and names of the editors, was collected. … Continue reading “New Image Collection: U.S. Government Manual”
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Federal Register by the Numbers
[This blog post was written by OFR intern Lissa N. Snyders] Our users frequently ask for information about Office of the Federal Register (OFR) publications. Publication statistics for the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations are compiled annually and posted to the Tutorials, History, and Statistics section of our website. This includes information … Continue reading “Federal Register by the Numbers”
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Passing of a Director of the Federal Register
It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Fred Emery, the third Director of the Federal Register. Mr Emery’s tenure, from 1970-1979, was one of the most creative and innovative periods in the history of the Office of the Federal Register (OFR). Not only did he initiate the changes that resulted in the … Continue reading “Passing of a Director of the Federal Register”
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Exploring the First Federal Register
[This post was written by OFR Intern Lissa Snyders] The first document ever printed in the Federal Register was an Executive Order titled Enlarging Cape Romain Migratory Bird Refuge. In 1936, a banker from New York, Gayer Dominick, donated Bulls Island to the U.S. government. The Department of Agriculture conducted a land survey to determine … Continue reading “Exploring the First Federal Register”
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When does this rule go into effect?
[This post was written by OFR intern Lissa N. Snyders] After high profile debates about proposed rules, we often get asked when these new rules will become effective. Before a rule can go into effect, a final rule must first be published in the Federal Register. It typically takes us three business days to process … Continue reading “When does this rule go into effect?”
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Public Inspection News
On Wednesday, March 4, 2015, we stopped posting the online Public Inspection List (PIL) at www.ofr.gov. From now on, the online PIL will only be available here at www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection. The content of the the list remains the sames, but some eagle-eyed followers may note a few formatting changes. The most significant change is in the … Continue reading “Public Inspection News”
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When is this document going to publish?
A question we get asked pretty often is “When is this document I read/heard about going to publish?” And the answer seems a bit secretive. According to 1 CFR 17.1: “…Upon receipt, each document shall be held for confidential processing until it is filed for public inspection.” So until the document is made available to … Continue reading “When is this document going to publish?”
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Federal Depository Library Program
We get a lot of questions here at the Office of the Federal Register. Some folks are interested in commenting on regulations. Check out our earlier post on our commenting feature: http://go.usa.gov/hXN3. Others are looking for help finding regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). And from 1994 to now, all of the regulations … Continue reading “Federal Depository Library Program”
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Fifth Volume of the Public Papers of President Barack Obama
The fifth volume of the Public Papers of President Barack Obama is now available online and for purchase. These volumes are produced right here at the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) by our staff in the Presidential unit. This particular volume is 888 pages and includes the text of his public speeches, news conferences, … Continue reading “Fifth Volume of the Public Papers of President Barack Obama”
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UPDATE: Public Inspection – January 16
UPDATE: January 27 The official Public Inspection site, www.ofr.gov was fixed in the early evening on January 16 and has been working without issue since. We want to thank everyone for their patience as we addressed the matter. You can keep up with Public Inspection updates by subscribing to them on www.federalregister.gov or following us on Twitter. * … Continue reading “UPDATE: Public Inspection – January 16”
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Public Inspection Issues- January 16
We are currently experiencing issues getting the Public Inspection List posted to our sites at www.ofr.gov and subsequently www.federalregister.gov. We are working with the Government Publishing Office to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. The Public Inspection desk is still available at our office at 800 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC 20002. We … Continue reading “Public Inspection Issues- January 16”
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eCFR May be Down for Maintenance
Many of our customers access the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) via www.eCFR.gov. It is an up-to-date, unofficial version of the CFR. The official version is still the printed CFR books. This weekend, from 9 a.m. Saturday, December 20 to 4 p.m. Sunday, December 21, the site may be down for maintenance. This should be the extent of the outage. … Continue reading “eCFR May be Down for Maintenance”
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OFR Director Charley Barth Stepping Down for New Opportunity
It is with great sadness that we announce the departure of our Director, Charley Barth. Charley has accepted a new position as an Executive Director with another company. Charley’s last day as Director is Friday, October 31 2014. Charley joined the National Archives and Records Administration in July 2012 as the Director of the Office of the … Continue reading “OFR Director Charley Barth Stepping Down for New Opportunity”
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CFR Color Selection for 2015!
[This post was written by Ann Worley and Kristen Goshorn of OFR’s CFR Unit] Each year, there is one update every book in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) receives: a change in color. Starting in January 1970, CFR volumes were bound in paperback form with a stripe of color on both the spine and … Continue reading “CFR Color Selection for 2015!”
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Federal Register Modernization Act Passed House of Representatives
Written by OFR Intern, Emily McLean In a unanimous vote of 386-0, the House of Representatives passed the Federal Register Modernization Act, an act amending the Federal Register Act of 1935. The act includes measures to better utilize technology, ease the administrative burden placed on agencies seeking to publish documents, and continue the Federal … Continue reading “Federal Register Modernization Act Passed House of Representatives”
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Administrative Committee of the Federal Register Meeting
Written by OFR Intern, Emily McLean. The Office of the Federal Register hosted a meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR) on Tuesday, July 8th in our conference room to discuss and vote on resolutions affecting the modus operandi of our agency. The three committee members of the ACFR, dictated by … Continue reading “Administrative Committee of the Federal Register Meeting”
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2nd Annual Federal Register Liaison Conference
The Office of the Federal Register held our 2nd annual Federal Register Liaison Conference on Thursday, June 5th at the McGowan Theater at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Agency liaisons from throughout the federal government filled the theater and nearly a hundred more viewed the conference via ustream. OFR Director Charley Barth welcomed the liaisons … Continue reading “2nd Annual Federal Register Liaison Conference”
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NARA/OFR Wikipedia Editathon
This comes from our blog post that made it onto NARAtions. The National Archives’ Office of Innovation and Office of the Federal Register teamed up with Wikimedia D.C. to host OFR’s first Wikipedia Editathon on Friday, May 23, 2014 in our Innovation Hub. As part of our mission to inform the American public, OFR worked … Continue reading “NARA/OFR Wikipedia Editathon”
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New Director of Publications and Services hired for the OFR!
We are pleased to welcome our newest member of the Office of the Federal Register family, John Hyrum Martinez! Mr. Martinez will be joining us in mid-June. He comes to the OFR from the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, where he has served for the past 13 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, Magna … Continue reading “New Director of Publications and Services hired for the OFR!”
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PKI Conference posted Online
Federal Register posts online tutorial for PKI program The Office of the Federal Register is pleased to announce a lecture series on implementing a digital submission process for federal agencies is now available on Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/public-key-infrastructure-pki-and-the-federal-register#/). The lecture series was filmed at our PKI conference back in March. There are five lectures total: Introduction to PKI … Continue reading “PKI Conference posted Online”
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First PKI Conference!
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) hosted its first PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) Conference on March 6, 2014. The conference was an opportunity for federal agencies to gather and discuss the challenges and solutions involved in submitting an ever-increasing number of documents digitally for publication in … Continue reading “First PKI Conference!”
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2013 PKI vs Non-PKI Submission Statistics
We just updated the Tutorials, History, and Statistics page on this site to include some simple statistics on 2013 Federal agency submission to the OFR! The Office of the Federal Register is equipped to accept digital submission of Federal Register documents using PKI technology. As you can see, more and more agencies are migrating to this … Continue reading “2013 PKI vs Non-PKI Submission Statistics”
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New Vacancy Announcement at the Office of the Federal Register
***This Posting has now Expired The National Archives and Records Administration recently announced a position for a Supervisory Technical Writer-Editor for the Publications and Services Division (FP) of the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) in Washington, DC. The position will plan, direct, coordinate and execute the activities of the OFR in all aspects of … Continue reading “New Vacancy Announcement at the Office of the Federal Register”
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Federal Register Workshop, Online!
The Office of the Federal Register(OFR) regularly offers a workshop entitled “Federal Register, What is it and How to Use it”. The workshop provides an overview of the regulatory process and the OFR’s role in that process. Specifically, it discusses the role of OFR’s publication of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations … Continue reading “Federal Register Workshop, Online!”
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Public Printer to Testify Before House
Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks is slated to testify in an oversight hearing before the United States House of Representatives Committee on House Administration Wednesday. The hearing on GPO in 2023: Keeping America Informed in a Post Print World, will highlight the Government Printing Office’s efforts to remain relevant in the digital era. As one of … Continue reading “Public Printer to Testify Before House”
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Government is Re-Opening
Congress has restored funding of appropriated activities and the government has begun to resume normal operations.
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What happens if the Government shuts down?
The OFR very much hopes that a lapse in appropriations will not occur, but we need to plan for all contingencies. What will happen to the Federal Register if there is a government shutdown? The OFR published a notice to give guidance to agency customers and the public. See, 78 FR 59974. In brief, the … Continue reading “What happens if the Government shuts down?”
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Improved Subscription Management Now Available
Over the past couple of months we’ve been working towards updating and enhancing our email subscription process; so we’re excited to introduce you to the features we’ve recently rolled out to the public, improved emails and subscription management. This post will cover the new subscription management feature, you can read more about our improved emails … Continue reading “Improved Subscription Management Now Available”
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Subscription Email Improvements
Over the past couple of months we’ve been working towards updating and enhancing our email subscription process; so we’re excited to introduce you to the features we’ve recently rolled out to the public, improved emails and subscription management. This post will cover our improved emails, you can read more about subscription management here. Improved Emails … Continue reading “Subscription Email Improvements”
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Congratulations, Davita Vance-Cooks
By Gabrielle Burns Senior Writer-Editor, Office of the Federal Register The staff at the Office of the Federal Register would like to extend our sincerest and most enthusiastic congratulations to the new Public Printer of the United States, the Honorable Davita Vance-Cooks. The Government Printing Office welcomed its 27th Public Printer yesterday when Davita Vance-Cooks … Continue reading “Congratulations, Davita Vance-Cooks”
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The Federal Register : What it is and How to Use It
Federal Register Workshop Schedule: When: Next Workshops: June 11, July 9, Sept. 17, Oct. 22, Nov. 19. 2013 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Where: Office of the Federal Register 7th Floor, Conference Room 800 North Capitol Street NW Washington, DC (3 blocks north of Union Station Metro) Reservations: Telephone: 202-741-6008 E-mail: ruth.allen@nara.gov For … Continue reading “The Federal Register : What it is and How to Use It”
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The New Federal Register Index
The Office of the Federal Register is proud to introduce a completely re-engineered Federal Register Index. It is available as a traditional printed product, but also as a currently updated online service and a print-on-demand PDF file on FederalRegister.gov. The FR Index has long been available to the public as part of a subscription to the … Continue reading “The New Federal Register Index”
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Improved Display of Proposed Rule Amendments
A few months ago we made some changes to the way we display Federal Register documents in HTML on FederalRegister.gov. In particular, we wanted to improve the display of regulatory text by adding a variety of icons, shading, and spacing to make complex documents easier to comprehend. Visual cues and improved navigation tools help readers understand … Continue reading “Improved Display of Proposed Rule Amendments”
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Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on December 24, 2012
Washington, DC — December 21, 2012. Earlier today, the President signed Executive Order 13633, declaring that: All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Monday, December 24, 2012, the day before Christmas Day… Accordingly, the Federal Register will not be published on December, 24, 2012. Documents that were … Continue reading “Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on December 24, 2012”
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Bright Idea Award: Harvard JFK School Recognizes Federal Register 2.0
Cambridge, MA – September 25, 2012. The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University recognized 111 innovative government initiatives as Bright Ideas. Thirteen of the 111 projects are U.S. Federal Government efforts. We are proud to say that NARA’s Federal Register 2.0 is one of the initiatives … Continue reading “Bright Idea Award: Harvard JFK School Recognizes Federal Register 2.0”
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Recent Improvements
Recently we made some changes to the way we display Federal Register documents in HTML on FederalRegister.gov. In particular, we wanted to improve the display of regulatory text by adding a variety icons, shading, and spacing to make these complex documents easier to comprehend. Rules published in the Federal Register can be a tough read, as … Continue reading “Recent Improvements”
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Our Digital Media Strategy & eBooks
By direction of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, and in concert with the White House Digital Government Strategy and NARA’s digital strategy planning, the OFR-GPO partnership is forging ahead to offer our publications in modern digital formats. To modernize the Public Papers of the Presidents series, we extensively altered our production system in 2009 and 2010, making the next … Continue reading “Our Digital Media Strategy & eBooks”
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U.S. Government Manual Updated
This just in from our U.S. Government Manual editors at the OFR — all agency entries have been updated, including listings for Boards, Bilateral Organizations, and Multilateral Organizations. The Manual’s “History of Agency Organizational Changes” document has also been updated. If you need to track down which Federal agencies have been terminated, transferred, or changed in … Continue reading “U.S. Government Manual Updated”
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Regulatory Lookback Process is Ongoing
The Department of Energy recently published a proposed rule in the Federal Register which serves as an excellent reminder that regulatory review is an ongoing process. Under Executive Order 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” agencies are required to develop a plan to periodically review existing regulations to determine which ones should be maintained, modified, strengthened, or … Continue reading “Regulatory Lookback Process is Ongoing”
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Congrats to Mary Alice Baish
The AOL Government site has a nice write-up on the selection of GPO’s Mary Alice Baish as one of this year’s “Fastcase 50.” The Fastcase 50 are deemed to be “the fifty most interesting, provocative, and courageous leaders in the world of law, scholarship, and legal technology. From lawyers and judges to librarians and government servants.” … Continue reading “Congrats to Mary Alice Baish”
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Getting the Jump on Regulations
Here’s an informative posting from our friends over at the Sunlight Foundation that explains how you can stay on top of the latest regulatory actions even before they are published in the Federal Register. They also have a nice plug for our “no-limits” FederalRegister.gov API.
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Charley Barth, Director of the Federal Register
This week marks the arrival of Charles A. (Charley) Barth as the new Director of the Federal Register. We are pleased to welcome Charley to the OFR. Charley Barth has served the Federal government for almost 20 years, most recently as Director of Records at the Department of the Navy, where he was responsible for … Continue reading “Charley Barth, Director of the Federal Register”
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NARA’s Open Government Plan, 2012-2014
The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and its parent organization, the National Archives and Records Administration, have open government embedded deeply in our shared history and mission. Recently, the National Archives updated its Open Government Plan to include significant initiatives to improve transparency, participation, and collaboration over the next two years. Since the last update, … Continue reading “NARA’s Open Government Plan, 2012-2014”
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Small Improvements
We are approaching the two-year anniversary of FederalRegister.gov (FR2) in July, so it is time to take stock of the overall look and feel of the site. In the next few weeks we will be making small improvements and tweaks to HTML pages and other features. This weekend we put in place the first of … Continue reading “Small Improvements”
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Problems with Email Subscriptions Resolved
Some of our customers reported that they did not receive their email subscriptions from FederalRegister.gov (FR2) the week of June 4th. Email service has been restored. The Federal Register on FDsys.gov was not affected. We determined the problem originated from our servers. Our technical team worked with Amazon Web Services to resolve the issue as … Continue reading “Problems with Email Subscriptions Resolved”
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New Suggested Search for Veterans Educational Benefits
On this Memorial Day weekend, the OFR salutes our veterans, and thanks them for their service and sacrifice. We are adding a new Suggested Search for “Veterans Educational Benefits” to help our vets and their families find Federal Register documents that govern the educational benefits due to those who have served their country in the … Continue reading “New Suggested Search for Veterans Educational Benefits”
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Executive Order 13610 on Public Inspection
On May 10, at an American Bar Association event, OIRA Director Cass Sunstein announced that President Obama was issuing a new Executive order on retrospective review of regulations. E.O. 13610 was numbered and filed for Public Inspection at 11:15 a.m. today at the OFR, and is posted online here. It will be published in the … Continue reading “Executive Order 13610 on Public Inspection”
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Saddle Up, Scout!
Scout is a new research and notification system developed by the Sunlight Foundation. It covers Congress, regulations across the entire executive branch, and legislation in all 50 states. We are pleased to say that we contributed to this project in a round-about sort of way. The federal regulatory content on Scout originates from FederalRegister.gov. We make … Continue reading “Saddle Up, Scout!”
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In Synch With Regulations.gov
FederalRegister.gov (FR2) is now tightly integrated with the electronic dockets on Regulations.gov. Comments submitted to Regulations.gov and processed for public display are now accessible from FR2. We also added connections to “Supporting/Related Materials” maintained in the dockets. The OFR’s involvement in the e-Rulemaking program goes back to 2002, when OFR/GPO created a constantly updated catalog … Continue reading “In Synch With Regulations.gov”
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Linking to Corrections and Republications
We are now making it easier to find corrections and complete republications of Federal Register articles through “View Correction” and “View Republication” links from the originally published item. In the past, users could have difficulty finding correcting documents without browsing or searching on a regular basis. When the OFR or GPO makes an error in … Continue reading “Linking to Corrections and Republications”
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Executive Orders Browse Tables
For quick access to Presidential Executive orders (E.O.) we have a new feature — a table of E.O.s under the “Browse” tab. We also beefed up the tools for Presidential documents in Advanced Search. You can search by President and by document sub-type. At the same time, we are adding E.O. material to Data.gov so … Continue reading “Executive Orders Browse Tables”
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Benefits & Costs of Regulations
OMB’s Draft 2012 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local and Tribal Entities is open for public comment. A direct comment link is posted here for your convenience. The report is required to be issued under the “Regulatory Right-to-Know Act.” The draft report covers: OMB’s view of the benefits … Continue reading “Benefits & Costs of Regulations”
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My FR Instructional Video
Want to know more about the new “My FR” Clipboard & Folder feature? We have a step-by-step video posted on the FederalRegister.gov front page to show you how to clip articles and create folders. The video also demonstrates the various ways to navigate My FR, the advantages of creating a log-in, and how you can … Continue reading “My FR Instructional Video”
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My FR Clip ‘N Save
When we launched FederalRegister.gov we put in place the foundation for a more customized user experience. Our new “My FR” feature (see page top tabs) lets you flag articles of interest for later reference. We think it is a very simple solution for organizing ongoing research. There’s no more need to keep multiple tabs open … Continue reading “My FR Clip ‘N Save”
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About e-CFR & the GPO Access Shutdown
The Law Librarian Blog (LLB) has questions about the impending GPO Access shutdown, and we have answers. The LLB asks, … what’s up with the e-CFR? The link on the FDsys page links back to, ah, GPO Access. Will this be transitioned by next week? I ask as it is a really useful resource. Fear not, LLB. Yes, the … Continue reading “About e-CFR & the GPO Access Shutdown”
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2011 Privacy Act Compilation
A new edition of the Privacy Act Compilation is posted on our OFR.gov website. It covers all Privacy Act notices and regulations issued by agencies through 2011. The OFR’s Privacy Act editor updated the material for publication in record time — it was revised and re-processed just five weeks after the closing date for new … Continue reading “2011 Privacy Act Compilation”
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ACUS Midnight Rules Project
The Administrative Conference’s Committee on Rulemaking will meet Thursday, February 23, and Wednesday, March 21, 2012 to consider a draft report and recommendation on the issue of midnight rules. The term “midnight rules” refers to regulations issued during Presidential transitions. The meeting notice is posted in the Federal Register (FR2 XML and FDsys PDF). Professor Jack Beermann … Continue reading “ACUS Midnight Rules Project”
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ACUS Recommendations
The Administrative Conference of the United States published in the Federal Register the Assembly’s recent recommendations regarding Incorporation By Reference, International Regulatory Cooperation, FACA – Issues and Proposed Reforms, and Agency Innovations in E-Rulemaking. The recommendations of the Assembly are also available on the ACUS website.
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New — Executive Summaries in Rules & Proposed Rules
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs issued a memo to Executive departments and agencies on January 4, 2012, advising that they should immediately begin to include “Executive Summaries” in regulatory preambles of lengthy or complex proposed and final rules. Executive Summaries are intended to ensure an open exchange of information and perspectives, and should describe … Continue reading “New — Executive Summaries in Rules & Proposed Rules”
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New Suggested Searches for 2012
To celebrate the new year, we added three suggested searches to the Health & Public Welfare news section of FederalRegister.gov. “Public Welfare” covers a lot of territory in our broad news categories, and now it includes new topical searches for: Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Transparency & Open Government, and Voting & Elections. Why create a separate … Continue reading “New Suggested Searches for 2012”
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Government Shutdown Procedures
December 15, 2011 To All Federal Agencies: What will happen to the Federal Register if there is a government shutdown? The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) published a notice to give guidance to agency customers and the public in the Friday, March 4, 2011 issue, 76 FR 12135. Our March 4th … Continue reading “Government Shutdown Procedures”
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FederalRegister.gov Wins Award for Innovation & Best Practices
On December 8, 2011, the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) selected the National Archives’ Office of the Federal Register as the winner of the first annual Walter Gellhorn Innovation Award for developing FederalRegister.gov. A panel of notable experts unanimously chose the OFR from a prestigious field of nominees. The Administrative Conference’s Gellhorn Award … Continue reading “FederalRegister.gov Wins Award for Innovation & Best Practices”
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A New Home for OGIS
The OFR welcomes the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), a sister agency within the National Archives, to our neighborhood near Capitol Hill. In fact, they moved into space right next door to the OFR. They also have a new web site to go along with their new digs. OGIS recommends policy changes to improve … Continue reading “A New Home for OGIS”
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The Inside Skinny on PI Transformation
A few weeks ago, we introduced our new Public Inspection (PI) page on FederalRegister.gov (FR2.0). The back-story of this Federal Register 2.0 project is now posted on CriticalJuncture.org. The PI project may offer lessons to anyone who is considering whether to transform an already good service into one that could be much more versatile and … Continue reading “The Inside Skinny on PI Transformation”
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Note
The Federal Register issue of 12/1/2011 was delayed, but is now posted on FederalRegister.gov and FDsys.gov. Thank you for your patience. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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Thanksgiving Day & What’s Cooking at the National Archives
The Federal Register family at OFR and GPO join the President in proclaiming a happy Thanksgiving Day. And speaking of the role of Government in food and health policy, we’ve got it covered from all angles: The history of food policy, including Victory Gardens; The official text of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA); … Continue reading “Thanksgiving Day & What’s Cooking at the National Archives”
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Helping Small Business & Veterans
On October 28, 2011, the President issued a memo to Federal agencies, directing them to make it easier for businesses to access the full range of Government programs and services without having to waste effort navigating their way through the Federal bureaucracy. We have a new small entities advanced search tool to help out on that … Continue reading “Helping Small Business & Veterans”
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Public Inspection Documents
We have a new resource on FederalRegister.gov (FR2.0) — access to the pre-publication versions of Federal Register documents (PDF format) on file for public inspection at the Office of the Federal Register (OFR). For those who may not be aware, the Federal Register Act requires the OFR to file documents for public viewing at our … Continue reading “Public Inspection Documents”
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Using Technology to Serve the American People
From the perspective of the OFR, the recent remarks of Steven VanRoekel, the new federal Chief Information Officer, struck a strongly resonant chord. At an event in Palo Alto, California, Mr. VanRoekel laid out his vision for the way technology can enable the government to do more for the American people, even as we face constrained resources. … Continue reading “Using Technology to Serve the American People”
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Polar Bears & Federal Register API
What do polar bears have to do with open data on FederalRegister.gov? From our Twitter feeds, we learned about one enterprising individual from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany (@esbenson). He has created a tracking system for polar bear protection documents via our Federal Register 2.0 Application Programming Interface … Continue reading “Polar Bears & Federal Register API”
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September 11, 2001
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the OFR remembers the fallen and the aftermath of that tragedy. In the days following 9/11, the U.S. Government honored the memory of those whose lives were taken in a heinous act of war, and began a furious effort to defend the nation. … Continue reading “September 11, 2001”
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Suggested Searches & Changes to News Sections
This week we rolled out a “suggested search” feature and a new look for highlighted documents in the news section pages. Our photo illustrations in the section pages are now in a larger, wider format and we added arrow pointers to let you leaf through four featured articles instead of scrolling down the page. Use the … Continue reading “Suggested Searches & Changes to News Sections”
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Neither ‘Quakes, nor ‘Canes, nor Heat, nor Gloom of Night…
Just in case you were wondering, Government Computer News has a quake report on Federal Register operations. The GPO workforce responded splendidly once again to ensure nationwide distribution of the electronic and print editions of the daily Federal Register. While GPO was evacuating its building and inspecting their physical plant, the OFR set up an … Continue reading “Neither ‘Quakes, nor ‘Canes, nor Heat, nor Gloom of Night…”
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News of the Regulatory World
We have two things to highlight today. First, the White House announced that agencies are releasing their final regulatory reform plans, including hundreds of initiatives that are designed to reduce costs, simplify the system, and eliminate redundancy and inconsistency. The White House keeps an inventory of agencies’ regulatory reform plans on its website. We also have … Continue reading “News of the Regulatory World”
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Recent Enhancements
You may have noticed that we made a few changes to the FederalRegister.gov site in recent days, in addition to the new “Developers” page for the open gov community. One year into Federal Register 2.0, we took a hard look at our appearance, and decided on a light refresh. The major visual change is the … Continue reading “Recent Enhancements”
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Plain Language – Write in Active Voice
Before the enactment of the Plain Writing Act, several federal agencies, including the Office of the Federal Register, were involved in the plain language movement. Our materials are found on the Federal Register pages of the National Archives website. One of our favorite plain writing devices is: Write in the active voice. The active voice … Continue reading “Plain Language – Write in Active Voice”
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API Now Available From Federal Register 2.0
Building on the groundbreaking efforts of the OFR/GPO bulk XML data feed, we’ve released an Application Programming Interface (API) for FederalRegister.gov, making it even easier for developers to build new ways of interacting with Federal Register data. You can easily fetch information about agencies, particular articles, or use any of our advanced search functionality to … Continue reading “API Now Available From Federal Register 2.0”
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What FedThread Has Sewn
As we celebrate the one year anniversary of Federal Register 2.0, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the work of the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP). The CITP’s Freedom to Tinker blog announced that their FedThread project is being retired. When NARA’s Federal Register office and GPO’s leadership decided to release … Continue reading “What FedThread Has Sewn”
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CFPB Issues 1st Set of Interim Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a series of interim final rules with requests for comment to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). On Friday, July 22, the CFPB published Regulation D under the Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act (AMTPA) and the Truth in Lending Act. That interim … Continue reading “CFPB Issues 1st Set of Interim Rules”
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CFPB Takes on Mortgage and Credit Report Regs
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“CFPB”) has issued a list of rules and orders that will be enforced by the CFPB under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. The list includes regulatory provisions formerly under the authority of the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, OTS, NCUA, FTC, and HUD. The transferred regulations include rules … Continue reading “CFPB Takes on Mortgage and Credit Report Regs”